Halo Infinite’s Big Team Battle mode finally has me excited

It is not all hype. Halo Infinite’s first two multiplayer test weekends didn’t grab me. I was initially impressed by its “classic” Halo feel. However, its pre-release condition reminded me of the glorious days of Halo 3I was bored after a few matches and wondered if an arena shooter would be something that I wanted in my future life.

However, I hoped that my favourite Halo mode Big Team Battle would eventually be my ticket to the finale. Halo InfiniteGet hyped up. After a weekend of fun in, Infinite’s largest maps, with more teammates and power weapons, I now find myself comfortably sitting in coach, actively awaiting that Dec. 8 release date. While it’s still not finished, Halo Infinite’s Big Team Battle reminds me why I fell in love with Halo multiplayer as a kid. And it’s the first time that 343 Industries has successfully straddled that line between a modernized and classic feel.

It’s difficult to translate what made Halo iconic in the first place. It being the first console shooter with analogue sticks certainly didn’t hurt, but it’s more than that. Although many Halo fights are determined by which player is faster with the melee button, the series was so unpredictable that the game became thrilling.

You could get kills in a matter of seconds or hours, depending on whether you had a rifle or a grenade. Each map presented a unique opportunity for you to master your preferred weapons and vehiclespawns. You had to outmaneuver the opposition. Big Team Battle — or the original incarnation of Big Team Battle back in Halo, Combat Evolved’s custom games on Blood Gulch — added powerful weapons and vehicles into the formula. But no matter how big it got and how many new toys you introduced, every encounter always felt like a duel — even if your second stepped in to help before the duel was over. That’s Halo, and it’s something not even Bungie maintained through its time making the series.

Image: 343 Industries

With the advent of technology, things have changed. Halo 4. This first game in what was supposed to be a new trilogy came with the impossible task of both modernizing Halo for 2012 players and also emulating Bungie’s past successes. This is just the beginning. Halo 5: Guardians343 also added stabilizer jumping and aiming down sights to its mid-air platform. Boosters allow you to dash in all directions. The 343 speeded up Halo’s progress, but it also lost the intimacy that existed between duelists.

Bungie was the previous owner, and 343 took over the management of the franchise. This gave them the difficult task of future-proofing an iconic franchise that had fewer strengths than many people would think. And while some players no doubt enjoy what 343 has done with Halo, it’s certainly hard to claim that Halo 4 Or Halo 5: Guardians The original trilogy shares the same lineage. If its multiplayer is any indication it will be a hit, Halo InfiniteIt’s a beacon of hope to long-suffering Master Chief supporters.

343’s restraint was the first thing I noticed with the Halo InfiniteBeta. The movement additions of Halo 5: Guardians. Left trigger still zooms in InfiniteOther non-zoom weapon types only give you a close up view. Sprint in Halo Infinite — something the original trilogy didn’t have, and Reach only offered as a bonus armor power — but the speed increase is slight compared to many other 2021 shooters. This means that you can play and pick up any of the 2021 shooters. Halo InfiniteModern controls, without having to retrain your brain as a 2007 Xbox 360 player. But these additions are small enough that they don’t betray what feels like simple gunplay.

You can only do it in a very small space. Halo Infinite feels like classic Halo (with slight tweaks), but it doesn’t give me anything I can’t get elsewhere. It also doesn’t showcase the new additions that You can find it hereA splash made in InfiniteThis is a. Big Team Battle is a different experience.

Big Team Battle is a soaring Halo experience with Ghosts crushing Spartans’ bodies and Banshees flying above. It’s what Battlefield always seems to want to be, but with a splatter of color and an otherworldly vibe. While three Warthog players attempt to take the flag, duels are held on both sides of the map. It’s all reminiscent of Halo’s Xbox 360 glory days.

But just when it’s all feeling Too I am familiar with this scene: Someone zooms by using a grappling hook and reminds me that 343 still has their acrobatic instincts. At an individual level Infinite It is simple and slow. But the view at 30,000 feet — or just through the eye of a Banshee — is beautiful, explosive chaos that feels simultaneously classic and new.

Halo hasn’t felt like Halo to me in years, and I’ve missed it for so long that I convinced myself I didn’t want it anymore — like looking at the Star Wars sequel trilogy and thinking “maybe we should’ve stopped before we got to this?” But this weekend, I felt like Halo was back. And more importantly, I’m excited about its return.